fringe: scotch and soda

Imagine if The Lost Boys (and Girls) ran away from Neverland to join the circus, grew up, went a little crazy and met some jazz musicians and possibly survived an apocalypse.

And now you're about halfway to having an idea of the level of wonderful craziness in Company 2's Scotch and Soda.

Even before the shows starts various characters were wandering around the tent, so the strangeness vibe was already in the air.

Then one of the down and dirtiest, quirkiest, most Lord of the Flies and yet well put together circus acts I've seen started in earnest.

And with The Uncanny Carnival Band playing live jazz to serenade the circus performers, it all melds together as one fantastic melting pot...

What I appreciated most was the whole show, but most specifically the circus portions, is wonderfully polished but at the same time it's not meant to look pretty... it's raw and a little bit janky, but it's executed with such precise skill. And it does take a lot of skill to make something so controlled look out of control.

I especially like it during any of the numbers featuring the two women, often times the performers are more interesting in posing and looking pretty... not these two... it's all about the power and the skill here. From trapeze to bottle walking, aerial straps to foot juggling, everything they did was impressive.

And the three guys... they were just as good in everything they did. I want to say "especially" and then rattle off something one of the guys did, but I realise that I have an "especially" for all three of them. The crazy Scott with his kilt and his merkin and his absolutely amazing silks/ribbon routine... the little guy and that box stacking routine... and the guy who served as the base for most of the acrobatic tricks and that bike riding routine. Fantastic.

I also liked that while I'd seen some of the routines done in other shows, they put their own definite spin on them and made them unique... and there were also some tricks that I've never seen before. Specifically the bike routine.

What I loved was how everyone made all of the routines look effortless... they may not always have been pretty, but they were always wonderful to watch.

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